The War on Drugs is a Failure. So What Can Be Done About it - Research Paper Example

Extract of sample The War on Drugs is a Failure. So What Can Be Done About it

In addition, 60% of the total violence in the United States is related to drug prohibition which means that the prohibition of drugs only induces violence (Maginnis) The violence that resulted in the prohibition of drug is not new. It is usually the case when something is banned. The same was the case when alcohol was still prohibited. It was only lifted during the Great Depression when the government adopted a pragmatist approach to the problem due to the escalating violence associated with its prohibition and instead opted to make money out of it to help lift the country out of the depression by taxing it. As a result, violence associated with alcohol became almost non-existent. The same is also the case in gambling. Violence becomes the norm when it becomes illegal and so is with prostitution when it is outlawed. Violence becomes a natural consequence of a prohibitive policy because it creates black markets where the law cannot supervise but would become otherwise if the industry is legalized. The problem of violence in prohibiting drugs is compounded by the fact that a prohibitive policy corrupts institutions. Since a prohibitive policy threatens the industry of illegal drugs, it is inevitable that bribery, extortion, threat and other undesirable practices will sprout for the industry to survive. It is worsen by the fact that the enforcement of banning drugs comes with a price that drains public purse. “Federal, state and local governments spend roughly $44 billion per year to enforce drug prohibition. These same governments forego roughly $33 billion per year in tax revenue they could collect from legalized drugs, assuming these were taxed at rates similar to those on alcohol and tobacco” (Miron). ...
The prohibitive policy against drugs does not only forgo the government income from taxing it but instead make it spend to enforce a policy that is futile. The strange thing about rabidly banning drugs with draconian measure is that countries which prohibits it such as United States has the highest rates of cocaine and marijuana abuse compared to countries which has a liberal drug laws such as E.U. and Portugal which has the lowest. In a study conducted by Cato Institute early April this year, it reported that policies that prohibit the use of drug is usually “based on speculation and fear mongering rather than empirical evidence on the effects of more lenient drug policies” (Szalavitz). The fear that legalizing illicit drugs will only exacerbate the drug problem did not actually happen. It showed that the legalization of drugs in Portugal has neutralized its ill effects which used to be its problem that is now pervasive in countries that ban illicit drugs. Consider the results of the Portugal’s policy of decriminalizing drugs. What was feared that the country will become a nation of drug addicts did not actually happen but in fact, helped solved the drug problem. Just when it was anticipated that drug use will rise, Portugal in fact “had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U”. The use of the former illegal drugs among seventh through ninth graders also fell from 14.1% to 10.6% and the drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds also fell from 2.5% to 1.8%. This development had a positive side effect on the curbing new HIV infection because it fell 17% because needles do not need to be shared anymore with legalizing the drugs (Szalavitz). Also,
...Show more

Summary

Experience has shown that the prohibitive approach towards drug is a total failure. Despite the draconian measures imposed against its distribution and use, the problem on drugs is still prevalent…

Check these samples - they also fit your topic

The two issues destroy the pillars of the society, potentially destroying inter community and intra community relations. For several decades, the fight against these two issues has been of great concern to media. This war on drugs and terrorism began actively in the twentieth century when the two issues began to significantly affecting the societal setup in various communities.

During the period, the operation has achieved mixed results, but the increasing incidents of drug use and supply has drastically undermined the credibility of the campaign.On the positive side, the war on drug campaign has increased awareness concerning the adverse effects of narcotics use in the society. However, the punitive enforcement approach used to control drug use and supply particularly in the United States and other countries has resulted to severe and adverse consequences, which have drastically undermined the success of the war on drugs.

Every day, we watch many people from television news reports being apprehended because of it. Many lives were also reported to have been lost as a consequence of drug use or drug trafficking. Still others had been ruined and as a result ended up on the streets, rehabilitation clinics or even worst in mental institutions.

Moreover, it is wrong to surmise that making drugs illegal leads to an increase in their abuse. This statement can be established by comparing the number of alcoholics to the number of drug abusers. The former are much larger in number, and this drives home the fact that legalizing drugs would lead to a much larger number of drug addicts. A telling example is provided by the enactment of the US Narcotics Act of 1914, which resulted in a major decrease in the number of drug users (Clark).

Columbian president wish of criminalizing coca farming is a major boost to war against drugs. 3. The US is under so much pressure from the Latin Americans since they hinder its effectiveness to ensure that their illegal drug trafficking operations continue uninterrupted.

The war describes set of programs pursued by US administration starting with the Nixon administration aiming at reducing the use of illicit drugs in the US.The hallmark of the policies involves increasing supply disruption strategies that have been favored as opposed to demand curtailment. However, the Obama administration is yet to establish a definitive break with previous drug policies of the previous administrations.

olitano claimed that the US would continue assisting the Latin American efforts of going after the regional producers and traffickers of drugs despite persistent drug-related violence.1 She claims that drug war has not failed but is rather a continuous effort of keeping the